Australia’s former Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has officially announced his resignation from parliament as he sets his sights on a new chapter in the private sector.
Australia’s helm was guided by Mr. Morrison, a conservative stalwart since 2007, during his leadership stint from 2018 to 2022. His legacy encompasses steering the nation through the pandemic, forging the Aukus defense pact, and wrestling with the repercussions of a historic scandal involving covert self-appointments to ministerial roles while serving as PM.
“The time has come for me to return to private life,” he said on Tuesday.
In a statement Mr Morrison, 55, said he would now take on “strategic advisory roles” across Asia to focus on security matters in the Indo-Pacific.
Voicing his commitment to Christianity, Mr. Morrison expresses his eagerness for a more active role in his church and increased family bonding, marking his retirement. This decision has been anticipated since the substantial 2022 election loss to Labor’s Anthony Albanese, leaving the Liberal-National coalition with its historically lowest seat count.
The decline of Mr. Morrison’s government was significantly influenced by Australia’s perceived status as a climate laggard, as voters leaned towards candidates advocating more ambitious emissions cuts. While his initial response to Covid, involving border closures, lockdowns, and robust test and trace protocols, contained early outbreaks, a belated vaccine rollout later garnered criticism.
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Throughout his tenure, the prime minister grappled with a tumultuous relationship with China, Australia’s primary trading partner. Propelling international calls for a Covid origins investigation, his government triggered a reciprocal trade dispute, resulting in a prolonged diplomatic standoff.
Executing a strategic reorientation, Mr. Morrison prioritized enhancing regional security alliances, playing a pivotal role in founding the Quad partnership with India, Japan, and the US, and solidifying the Aukus nuclear submarine agreement with the UK and US. However, public support waned rapidly after his decision to holiday in Hawaii amid Australia’s deadly 2019-2020 bushfires.
In response to considerable backlash for his initially subdued response to a barrage of sexual misconduct allegations that reverberated through parliament, Mr. Morrison offered a later apology. Post his substantial 2022 election defeat, characterized by an internal review as the “most serious” in coalition history, he returned to the opposition backbench.
In an unprecedented move, he earned the distinction of becoming the inaugural former prime minister censured by parliament, a consequence of the secret powers he granted himself during the pandemic.
Mr. Morrison justified his decision to appoint himself as the joint minister for health, finance, treasury, and home affairs during his leadership, citing the “extraordinary times” Australia was navigating.